How a college contributes to entrepreneurs’ success

Federal College of Agriculture, Akure, Ondo State, is helping youths find employment in agriculture. It has also developed entrepreneurship education to help people improve their lives by bringing the vast knowledge to individuals, communities and businesses. Many young people, who once viewed agriculture as a dead-end, now see it as a business potential and are reaping its benefits. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

Some agricultural entrepreneurs are enjoying the fruits of their labour. But the story of their successes involves formal agric entrepreneurial education.

One of them is Afioluwa Mogaji. He is Chief Executive, X-Ray Farms Consulting and AF Marketing.

Named by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as a ‘Champion for Change’, Mogaji obtained a National Diploma in General Agriculture from Federal College of Agriculture, Akure(FCA), Ondo State before going for higher qualifications.

A new generation agricultural expert, coach and consultant in the livestock and crop production , Mogaji, known nationwide as African farmer, is one graduate of FCA, who is passionate about leveraging agriculture to reduce unemployment and promoting enterprise development among rural and urban farmers. He has taken up farm projects and have managed to turn them into successful businesses and a model enterprise in the agric industry.

Within the industry, his enthusiasm has been remarkable, propelling him to success in his entrepreneurial endeavours.

In 2009, he hosted the entire members of Nigerian senate committee on Agriculture and Water resources on his 250 acres irrigation farm in Iseyin, Oyo State. Also, he received a delegate from the Minister of Agriculture in the same year.

Last year, he represented Nigeria in the United States on “US Foreign Policy and Food Security programme “ sponsored by the Department of State and became a Fellow of International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP).

He is a recipient of many awards including “National Youth Merit Award (Most Outstanding Youth in Nigerian Agriculture 2009) and N.Y.S.C Honours in Jigawa State, Award for self financing and introduction of practical modern beekeeping to Jigawa State. He built this foundation from FCA.

Benjamin Olayiwola is another proud graduate of the college. He is a successful poultry entrepreneur.

He holds a Higher National Diploma (HND) in animal production technology (Poultry Production Option) from FCA. Starting from the ground up was no easy feat. But he took advantage of his training as well as the knowledge of specialists within the field. Today, Olayiwola runs a very profitable business which consists, raising broilers and producing eggs daily.

He is happy with his progress and he is an advocate of agro-entrepreneurship.

He feels it is a sustainable solution to most of the challenges which the nation is facing.

Olayiwola is coping with business challenges because the school instilled in him that virtue of good and hard labour, and taught him a lot about dealing with people and running his own business.

Studying at FCA, helped to pave the way for Oluwatosin Adesuyi, Chief Executive, Prisky-Jetty Nigeria Limited, to succeed during the early years of his career.

He obtained a Higher National Diploma (HND) in horticulture and landscape design. He graduated in 2002. He started with an horticulture enterprise.Today, he has distinguished himself in horticulture and landscape design. He is part of a new wave of horticultural entrepreneurs seeking to modernise the way people garden. His approach is to get people to grow healthy, more productive plants. Putting his horticulture know-how to work, and using his competitive instincts has helped Adesuyi to succeed. He loves it so much that he has transformed the methods of agriculture in some towns using his expert knowledge.

In time, he learnt that business was more about skills, tact, networking, and creating goodwill instead of just profits and money.

For him, FCA, was a great school to go to.His education gave him a great start to his career. The plant knowledge he gained at school is something he uses on a day-to-day basis.

He has many future goals for his company, including teaching others how to build their own landscape.

He has never regretted his investment in horticultural farming.

Provost, Federal College of Agriculture, Akure, Ondo State, Dr Samson Adeola Odedina, said agriculture is going to create huge opportunities but that there is need for dynamism and professionalism.

As young entrepreneurs are joining the fray, he said commodities are being turned into value-added products and premium prices can be demanded from various retail outlets.

He said there has been increased interest in food processing, adding that many Nigerians are trying to get products from developed recipes into the marketplace.

According to him, most of these entrepreneurs have difficulty locating information on processing techniques, ingredients, equipment, regulations, and most importantly, marketing.

He said FCA has built this into its courses. With partners, he said the college offers courses in the fields of seed and plant material, plant health management, post-harvest technologies, farm machinery and implements, and biotechnology.

This is not all. Odedina said would-be agri entrepreneurs are offered opportunities to use its facilities. The main intention is to help these entrepreneurs by handholding them till they are able to firmly set their feet in the business,” he said.Odedina said the goal of the college is to educate a new breed of entrepreneurial-minded agriculturalists to take up the vast opportunities in agriculture.

According to him, agriculture provides adequate opportunities with good returns and youths should be sensitised to water-saving irrigation strategy, latest farm technology, export-based avenues and post-harvest treatment as part of value-addition for transforming agriculture into a successful entrepreneurship.